Beyond Reality discussion

Hi everyone,

I apologize that nominations are being opened a few days late this month. When Stefan asked me to field the beginning-of-the-month posts this month, I must have had a bit of a brain bubble, because I completely forgot to ask about the mid-month nominations post that usually goes up around the 10th-12th. We've had company in town, and in a quiet moment I had pop into my head "Huh...isn't it about time to start thinking about August noms? Oh, wait...that would be me. Duh!"

So, I do apologize. We've got some catching up to do, so let's get this show on the road!

I'll leave the nominations post up a couple of extra days, until the 22nd, then we'll adjust the polls accordingly. That way everyone will have a full week to think and nominate.


Each group member can make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration.

Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. You can also check the group bookshelves for previous Books of the Month to see if your nomination has already been read by the group. (Being chosen as a past BotM does not necessarily disqualify a book from current consideration, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.)

• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group, but feel free to assert your enthusiasm for any nomination all the same.
• Friendly discussion/debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.

Nominations will remain open through Sunday, May 22, and the first round of polls will go up on Monday, May 23.

Thanks!


NOMINATIONS SO FAR:

FANTASY:
The Etched City by K.J. Bishop (Paul 'Pezter')
Fortress in the Eye of Time by C.J. Cherryh (Janny)
Among Others by Jo Walton (Deedee)

SCIENCE FICTION:
Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh (Kevin)
Idlewild by Nick Sagan (Paul 'Pezter')
The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner (Julie)
Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling (Deedee)
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (Hirondelle)
Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh (Stefan)

I would like to nominate Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh for science fiction.

May I nominate Idlewild by Nick Sagan for SF

and (because I'm sure it will win this time!) The Etched City by KJ Bishop in fantasy.

Kevin wrote: "I would like to nominate Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh for science fiction."

I assume you mean the first book. But, hey, there are only eleven more after that. Just kidding. Good choice.

I've never been disappointed by Cherryh. I wanted to suggest her The Goblin Mirror for fantasy, but it is OOP, though used copies are easy to find.

Kernos wrote: "I've never been disappointed by Cherryh. I wanted to suggest her The Goblin Mirror for fantasy, but it is OOP, though used copies are easy to find."

I was able to find copies of that for a buck or so on just about every site I tried, so I'd say it's commonly enough available to nominate if you like.

Edit to add: I tried four different library systems from places I've lived in the US, and it was available at all of them, as well. It is also available via bookdepository and amazon.co.uk, so it's not only the US where it is easy to find.

Fortress in the Eye of Time by C. J. Cherryh is certainly still in print, an excellent read - I am willing to put that title forward for fantasy.

Janny wrote: "Fortress in the Eye of Time by C. J. Cherryh is certainly still in print, an excellent read - I am willing to put that title forward for fantasy."

It's brilliant, Janny! I have such clear images of the 1st book in my mind. I've yet to read the last novel in the series, but want to re-read all 1st.

Foreigner has been Book of the Month here already, but we can certainly reread it. I actually just reread it myself on the flight back from my vacation!

I'll post a couple of nominations myself, as soon as I get over the jet lag :)

Stefan wrote: "Foreigner has been Book of the Month here already, but we can certainly reread it. I actually just reread it myself on the flight back from my vacation!

I'll post a couple of nominations myself,..."

Sorry, I did not realize that.

Kevin wrote: "Stefan wrote: "Foreigner has been Book of the Month here already, but we can certainly reread it. I actually just reread it myself on the flight back from my vacation!

I'll post a couple of nomi..."

Kevin - It looks like it was back in 2004, in the pre-Goodreads days. So many of the current group may not have been involved in that discussion. It seems unlikely that it will hurt your nom's chances much, if at all. (And remember: Even if it had been much more recent, that doesn't disqualify a book, assuming there are enough group voters who want to read it.)

And welcome back, Stefan!

I've really been wanting to read The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner, so I would like to nominate it for the science fiction read. It looks like an interesting take on the environment.

Julie wrote: "I've really been wanting to read The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner, so I would like to nominate it for the science fiction read. It looks like an interesting take on the..."

I've been told that it's a criminally-underknown and rather terrifying (especially in its time, but perhaps even more so now...) apoc tale that I simply must read, so I've had it on my list a long while. I've yet to actually read it, though.

I'd like to nominate for fantasy:

Among Others by Jo Walton

which I've just finished reading and which I highly recommend;

and, for science fiction, I'll nominate an old favorite:

Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling

I third that nom.
Funny thing. I pulled it off my shelf last week. I cant remember the exact reason but its sitting in my summertime mini TBR pile (I have several types of TBR piles)

I am interested in Among Others, good one!

I would like to nominate for fantasy, uhuh. A Dance with Dragons, because I am going to read it anyway and would be interested in what you all think.

For SF Chasm City, I need to motivation to pick it from the bottom of the TBR.

Hirondelle wrote: "I would like to nominate for fantasy, uhuh. A Dance with Dragons, because I am going to read it anyway and would be interested in what you..."

Hirondelle, since it's #5 in a series, I'm afraid it won't work for our purposes. If a book is nominated that isn't the first in a series, the group has to have already read all previous books. I see in the Master Lists of Previous Books of the Month - 2001-2005 and 2006-Present - that the group read #s 1-3 of the series back in pre-Goodreads days (2001, 2003, and 2004), but that it has never read #4.

I'm going to defer to Stefan's input here, in case the group has in fact read all 4 previous volumes but #4 didn't get added to the list (or something), but from what I can see, #5 in the series probably won't work.

I have added your SF nom, though. :)

No problem, my fault! I remembered about the series thing, but not for this one. And btw I do not recommend that they read #4, it´s not that good, or at least it´s sort of a stopgap book.

Candiss got it right. Thanks for withdrawing the nomination, Hirondelle.

I'm going to add an SF nominations of my own this time: Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh, which is a near-future dystopia and one of the better debut novels I've read in a while. It seems to get some really extreme love-it-or-hate-it reviews, so it should generate some good discussion. You can find my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I'm not going to add a fantasy nomination because I'd love to see either Among Others or Fortress in the Eye of Time win.

I'm rooting for 'The Etched City'.

It will be a Cherryh's month with me : Fortress in the Eye of Time and Foreigner. I read them long ago and would like to come back to them.